Nightshade Keri Lake

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

There are a lot more truths in the books we read, than we’d like to admit. What if a book delves into the lives of the very town you live in? Reveals to you some personal stories of people you know? Or thought you knew. Bookstore owner Kevin Ellison faces this truth when a mysterious book shows up in Through a Mirror, Darkly by Kevin Lucia. Through a Mirror, Darkly is a Supernatural Thriller collection masked as a novel. With elements of mystery, suspense, and otherworldly horror, Through a Mirror, Darkly successfully delves into the worlds of Lovecraft, Grant, and the mysterious Carcosa. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing Arcane Delights. Clifton Heights' premier rare and used bookstore. In it, new owner Kevin Ellison has inherited far more than a family legacy, for inside are tales that will amaze, astound, thrill...and terrify: An ancient evil thirsty for lost souls. A very different kind of taxi service with destinations not on any known map. Three coins that grant the bearer's fondest wish, and a father whose crippling grief gives birth to something dark and hungry.

Based on the untrue writings of the Satanic Panic. The Satanic Panic was a moral outcry in the United States over supposed “satanic” influence in media that were warping the youth of America. Claims that playing an elf in Dungeons and Dragons could lead to demonic possession, that playing heavy metal music backwards would reveal satanic messages, and that therapists could uncover repressed memories of satanic ritual abuse, were all too common. Volumes and volumes of material were produced on this fake subject. These texts lead to What Hell May Come, which takes a look at what the world would actually be like if all of the claims of the satanic panic were true. Set in 1986, Jon St. Fond’s life is a living Hell. Deliberately abused and neglected by his parents, the only joy he has in life is an escape into a fantasy land of role playing games. Soon he discovers that his parents are part of a secret occult religion with hidden ties all across the world. As Jon and his friends dig, they learn more of the secret history of the world and discover the power of making deals with creatures from Beyond. However, power has its price, as Jon and his friends quickly discover. One-by-one they begin to become consumed by their own desires and hatreds. Jon learns there is method behind the madness of his life, as his Father begins to bring him closer and closer into the ways of the cult. Ultimately, Jon must make a choice between all the pleasures of the earth and the future of his soul. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

In an East London lock up, two film makers, Jimmy and Sam, are duct taped to chairs and forced to watch a snuff film by Ashkan, a loan shark to whom they owe a lot of money. If they don’t pay up, they’ll be starring in the next one. Before the film reaches its end, Ashkan and all his men are slaughtered by unknown assailants. Only Jimmy and Sam survive the massacre, leaving them with the sole copy of the snuff film. The film makers decide to build their next movie around the brutal film. While auditioning actors, they stumble upon Melissa, an enigmatic actress who seems perfect for the leading role, not least because she’s the spitting image of the snuff film’s main victim. Neither the film, nor Melissa, are entirely what they seem however. Jimmy and Sam find themselves pulled into a paranormal mystery that leads them through the shadowy streets of the city beneath the city and sees them re-enacting an ancient Mesopotamian myth cycle. As they play out the roles of long forgotten gods and goddesses, they’re drawn into the subtle web of a deadly heresy that stretches from the beginnings of civilization to the end of the world as we know it. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Richard Franklin has left his Midwestern roots behind to live on the coast of Maine with his family. But in the autumn of the year 2000, he must return to his Illinois birthplace on a sorrowful journey. His wife Michelle has been killed in New England by a hit-and-run driver who is never found, so back home he comes with her cremated remains, to fulfill a final wish and on her birthday scatter her ashes in the park along the river in Blackwater Valley—simply Blackwater Val to locals—the small town where they both grew up and fell in love. With him he brings his six-year-old daughter Katie who still grieves for her lost mother: Katie, who can sometimes guess who’s going to be on the phone before it rings. Who can stop all the clocks in the house, and break up clouds in the sky with her mind, and heal sicknesses, and who sometimes sees things that aren’t there...people who are no longer alive. All gifts she inherited from her mother. Only something isn’t quite right in the Val. Sinkholes are opening up, revealing the plague pits the sleepy hamlet was built over in the 1830s, when malaria and cholera outbreaks ran riot. Mysterious bird and fish die-offs begin to occur, and Katie can see ghosts of the dead gathering all around. But what she can’t see is the charred, centuries-old malevolence which has been waiting for her, and wants her for its very own. Or the pale Sallow Man who haunts the town’s nighttime streets...or the river witch—another Blackwater Val, of sorts—each of whom will be drawn one by one into the nightmarish bloodletting about to take place. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

In the midst of relentless bullying and despair, Isla's desire to end her life leads her to a dark, stormy night in the heart of a forbidding forest. But fate takes an unexpected turn when a captivating, enigmatic man named Liam emerges from the shadows, saving her from certain death. With a revelation that shatters her reality, Liam unveils his true nature as a werewolf and claims Isla as his destined mate. This revelation marks only the beginning of her extraordinary journey. As Isla delves deeper into this mystical realm, she encounters a plethora of supernatural beings she never fathomed existed. The truths she once held dear crumble, leaving her to grapple with a world transformed before her eyes. Amidst the chaos and danger, Isla must summon her inner strength to adapt and survive in this new and perplexing life thrust upon her. The question looms: Will Isla find the resilience to navigate this strange existence, embracing her connection with Liam? In a world where destiny and danger entwine, her journey unravels a tale of love, courage, and the untold secrets of the supernatural.

"The Vampire's Embrace: A Romance in the Shadows" is a thrilling and seductive novel that weaves together the worlds of humans and vampires in a way that will leave readers breathless. At its core, the novel is a romance, exploring the forbidden attraction that exists between Celess, a human woman, and Steve, a mysterious and alluring vampire. Set against a backdrop of dark, twisting alleyways and shadowy corners, the novel is infused with an air of danger and intrigue that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

"Moonlit Love" follows the journey of Kate, a young woman trapped in a life of cruelty by her heartless step-parents. Lost in the forest, Kate encounters Elias, a lycan prince, igniting a forbidden love. Determined to save Kate, Elias embarks on a perilous journey with his pack. As they confront dangers and challenges, Kate and Elias's bond deepens, but external threats test their love. Set against a mystical backdrop, "Moonlit Love" is a tale of romance, redemption, and the enduring power of love.

EXCERPT. "This cock was the reason you killed my wife, now ride it till it bruises you," Lucien hissed as he tightened his hold around my neck. ...... ...... Despite being the only daughter of a Mafia Lord, Aria had been pampered and hidden all her life, she knew no violence until her 18th birthday. Drugged and miraculously ending up in bed with her cousin's husband, she triggered her death and realized she had no choice but to marry him (her cousin's husband). But Lucien, the head of the largest Mafia syndicate, hated her; he believed she was the reason why the woman he loved died, so he agreed to marry her to torment her. War was brewing but so was sexual desire between the people who claimed to hate one another. Tormented and battered, Aria sought comfort in her favorite popstar, a mysterious, famous, masked singer, Michell Blaze, who didn't scream danger, but Aria soon realized how wrong she was. When the mask fell, Aria realized that she was trapped in-between the man who crushed her and the man who healed but also destroyed her. WARNING: RATED 18 FOR THIS BOOK CONTAINS BOTH VIOLENCE AND MATURE SCENES. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK, for it is a dark romance, so you might see stuff that might be triggering, so please proceed with caution.

EXCERPT. "What makes you think, I need to be repaid?" He asked and I went quiet wondering if I was insane for stopping him. "Well, you saved me," I told him and he stared deeply at me. "You will know then, and I also hope when the time comes, you will remember all you have said now". He added before proceeding with his movement. ********************************************** Acapella Williams. A girl who has an open mind is judged by the world because of her imperfections. Unfortunately, she finds herself entangled with the deadly man in the world. A man rumored to be the devil, who wears a gold mask with a skull diagram drawn on it. Mysterious, dangerous, tempting, alluring. He is all of these. Little Acapella finds herself torn between a world of hers and a world of his, especially when she finds out that her entire life was a lie. It is also discovered that her entire life was somehow linked to this same mysterious devil. Then she tries to flee, but the same devil is already obsessed with her. Now, will she succeed in her quest for freedom, or will she succumb to the darkness of this devil?